Clarity
by bruised-tears
Summary: Erik and Charles meet a highly skilled thief with a very powerful mutation. Erik/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** don't own done sue

Lyrics are from 'Clarity' by Zedd & Foxes

**Clarity**

**Chapter One**

High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life  
>Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time<br>Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends  
>A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again<br>'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need  
>Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why<br>If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?  
>If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?<br>Walk on through a red parade and refuse to make amends  
>It cuts deep through our ground and makes us forget all common sense<br>Don't speak as I try to leave 'cause we both know what we'll choose  
>If you pull then I'll push too deep and I'll fall right back to you<br>'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need  
>Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why<br>If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?  
>If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?<p>

The last few employees were trickling out of the building, hurrying through the big glass doors fronting the monolithic skyscraper. They huddled in a group for a moment, exchanging goodbyes and joking about the crappy hours. A gust of bitter wind tugged at their coats, lifting a woman's hair and snatching at a man's loose tie until it flapped up into his face. Two of them split from the other four and set off at a brisk pace towards the bus stop around the corner, the others scurried towards the underground parking lot reserved for staff. After a few moments of eerie stillness, where only the faint sounds of traffic and the distant wail of a car alarm stirred, the electric gate swung open with an unhealthy clanking noise and four cars climbed unsteadily up the steep inclining drive. Eden counted the four employees as the vehicles made their trundling procession along the curving drive and out onto the street. Horns hooted goodbye, cracking loudly through the still night air.

The stillness spread like a cloud over the empty building, blanketing the whole street. She waited for at least another hour, her butt numb from sitting on the cold concrete roof and her shoulders aching from being hunched over. She counted minutes, waiting for the tell-tale glimmer of the security guard's flashlight passing by the windows. When he reached the thirty-third floor, she got to her feet, ignoring her protesting joints. She swung her black canvas backpack onto her shoulders over her black sweater, climbing over the edge of the roof and using the rusted old ladder to clamber her way down the side of the building. The ladder reached the fourth floor and, as she scrambled through the window, she glanced over her shoulder at the skyscraper. The flashlight was swinging along the fortieth floor. Her boots sent up puffs of dust as she crossed the carpeted floor of the abandoned apartment. The front door hung from its hinges, graffiti sprayed in a wild arc splashing onto the wooden floor of the hallway in a shocking blast of colour.

Eden knew she had four minutes to get out of this apartment block, across the street and into the office building. By then the security guard, Tucker if she had the schedule down right, would be on the top floor checking out the big boss's office and adjoining boardroom. Eden counted seconds in her head as she flew down the stairs of the building, her boots barely touching the creaking wooden steps. As she approached the padlocked and bolted front door, she narrowed her gaze and sent a bolt of awareness out towards the door. Her gaze flickered and, even though she felt her feet thumping on the wooden stairs and the current of dusty air brushing past her cheeks, everything seemed to slow around her. The door glimmered electric blue, every chip of wood visible to her. She ignored the door and concentrated on the locks. She convinced the screws holding the bolt in place to release, carefully separating them from the rusted plate as if she were peeling petals apart. They hadn't even plunked to the ground when she switched her focus to the padlock. This took more concentration and she narrowed her focus a little, losing her awareness of the dank hallway around her even more. She identified the tiny metal cogs inside the padlock, wheedling out the ones that kept it locked. She convinced them to loosen, prying them apart and coaxing them into separating.

The padlock clunked onto the porch a micro-second before she burst through the door and she grinned, swiping sweat from her forehead. She glanced at her watch. The whole thing had taken forty-six seconds. Not bad, not really good though. She forced herself to walk casually across the road in case anyone was looking. She'd broken the streetlights down here a few nights ago and, in her black trousers and black hooded sweater, she was almost invisible. The flashlight was bobbing high above her. She broke into a run again as soon as she was out of sight of the street, heading for the maintenance entrance.

The plain hallway was lit by a pale green glow from the Exit sign above the door. She squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment, picturing the layout of the building. She looked at her watch. She had two minutes and thirty three seconds left. She broke into a sprint, flying down the hallway and swinging around the corner. Keeping track of the doorways blurring on either side of her, she skidded to a halt outside an ordinary looking door. She took a deep steadying breath, then focused her awareness on the door. Like peeling back the layers of an onion, she pushed aside the image of the door and studied the various locks on the other side. They were complicated locks, more difficult than the simple bolts and padlock she'd already dealt with.

She forced herself to ignore time trickling rapidly away from her, working each of the locks until they gave. Sweat prickled under her hairline and along the back of her neck, her heart pounded and her head started to swim. The last lock gave with a tiny creak and she let out her breath in a whoosh, pushing open the door and crossing into the room. She searched the tiny square doors lining the entire opposite wall. She knew as soon as she opened one the alarms would be triggered and Tucker would be on his way down. Her watch said she still had ninety seconds before Tucker finished his rounds and headed down on his own. A ninety second head start.

The priceless items were protected in the huge state-of-the-art vault in the basement beneath her feet. Not what she was after today, as interesting as it would be to root around in there and unearth some secrets. There was a smaller room which housed less destructive less valuable secrets, she just wasn't sure which one it was. She glanced at her watch. She'd given herself time to search each room in her plan but now she was worried it would take too long. She expanded out her focus, drawing on the last of her energy. She skimmed lightly over the surface of each room, stretching as far as she dared. There were three possible candidates and she plumped for the closest one first. She giggled despite herself when she realised she'd managed to strike it lucky first time out. None of the safety deposit boxes were numbered and she hurriedly counted, searching for the box her client had specified.

It was child's play to unlock the box, she could have done it with her lock picks but the clock was ticking. She nudged open the door with a gloved hand, retrieved the file and locked the box back up. She tucked the file into the back of her jeans, pulling the hem of her sweater down to cover it. She could feel the cool paper through the thin vest top she was wearing as if it were pressed directly against her skin as she carefully closed the door and convinced it to re-lock itself.

* * *

><p>"Okay, kid. Here's your fee and your cut."<p>

Eden accepted the notes without counting them, folding them up and tucking them into the back pocket of her jean shorts.

"And this… is a little something for your birthday."

If she didn't know any better, Eden would almost have thought that the big hulking man mountain was blushing. She took the roll of notes and palmed them into her front pocket, leaning over the bulky wooden counter and grazing her lips against his grizzled cheek.

"Thank you, Sampson." She trilled sweetly.

He was definitely blushing, his weathered cheeks flushing darkly beneath the grime and stubble. She grinned. She'd known Sampson since she was a kid; her father had refused to deal with any other middle man as the go-between for his jobs and neither would she. Sampson seemed like a slightly batty old man well past his prime, but he knew everyone in the criminal underground game and he still had a few less than savoury connections should you need them.

The door tinkled and a short fat man ambled into the store whistling loudly. He leered with a wide yellow-toothed grin as he saw her leaning one hip against the counter, eyeing her chest in her white top and daisy-patterned fringed vest, the tiniest peek of bare flat navel and her long bare legs right down to her dusty heeled boots.

"You be careful now." Sampson grunted, patting her hand where it still lay on the countertop.

"Always." She shot back with a wink, sliding her huge mirrored sunglasses over her eyes.

She moved around the still leering fat man and stepped out into the hot street. She wandered down the street, enjoying the sunlight and the heat and having a few careless free hours to kill. She was studying a ridiculously expensive dress it would be far more fun to steal than purchase in a store window when her senses started to prickle. She'd had the feeling someone was watching her for the last few days, assuming it was the police she hadn't looked too carefully and always managed to give whoever it was the slip but now she was annoyed. The heat had strung out her very last nerve. She used the cover of her glasses to search the glass window for her pursuer. It didn't take long to spot him, leaning casually against a streetlight and pretending to read a newspaper. She couldn't really see him, just the broad slope of his wide shoulders under his black sweater and the slender grace of his hips and long legs. Who wore black in this heat? Vain idiot. He didn't look like a cop though. He looked like trouble.

She sidled into the store keeping one eye on the man across the street; he made no move to follow her but his head tilted slightly at the sound of the door chime. She begged the girl behind the counter for the key to the bathroom claiming lady problems, making sure she passed the window as she pretended to peruse the gaudy dresses on display, then side-stepping out of the back door into the alley behind the store. She waited for over an hour, out of boredom using her mutation to pull apart then rebuild a half broken stone wall, until she was sure he must have given up waiting for her. She circled around the side of the building and re-joined the throng of people bustling up and down the street. She was just in time to see her stalker moving away against the press of people, crossing the street and stepping onto one of the paths that led away from the busy centre towards the residential areas. Making a split second decision she would come to regret with every fibre of her being, she followed him. He turned down a side street and she decided enough was enough. She took off as soon as she hit the corner of the street, streaking after him and tackling him before he even turned around. That was the plan anyway, unfortunately he was ridiculously quick and she was lunging at him with her hands outstretched like a lunatic when he whirled around towards her. Eden's forward momentum crashed them into each other and they hit the ground with a painful crunch, stars bursting before her eyes. Fortunately, he broke most of her fall. After a dazed moment of confusion, they grappled awkwardly. She was too startled to think of using her mutation, her first reflex was to fight with her bare hands. She was very skilled at hand to hand combat but his grip on her wrists was like iron and his feet had locked around her ankles. He didn't wriggle beneath her, even though she was squirming like crazy on top of him trying to get out of his grip. He merely stared up at her, amusement flickering in his eyes and his lips twisting into a smirk. He let go only when she stopped struggling. She scrambled to her feet and he was back on his with alarming speed. He reached out to grab her elbow and her reflexes kicked in. She grabbed his wrist, yanked his arm around and stuffed him face first against the wall.

"Who are you?" She demanded, using her hip in the small of his back to anchor him in place even though he wasn't struggling.

In fact, it actually sounded like he gave a muffled laugh and Eden felt the tiny hairs along her body stand on end. She felt a hand touch her back and she froze. Whoever was behind her spoke so softly, she had to struggle over the pounding of her heart in her ears to hear.

"Please release him."

She let go of his arm and took a small step back. He turned away from the wall and scowled, blood dribbling down his cheek where she'd forced it against the cement wall. She backed away and the stranger behind her moved to give her space. The two men shared a look as they moved to stand besides one another and she studied them warily. The one she'd grabbed had dark wavy hair tinted red in the sunlight, his brilliant silver-blue eyes stared back at her impassively. He exuded danger and mystery and she hurriedly looked away. The other guy seemed the nicer of the pair. He was smiling gently, his floppy dark hair tipping over his forehead and his sky-blue eyes peering at her enquiringly. He lifted one hand towards his head and she held up her own hands in warning. He frowned and dropped his hand to his side, exchanging another silent look with his partner. She had the oddest feeling that they could talk to each other that way and it did nothing to allay her fears.

"Why are you following me?" She demanded.

They looked at each other again. That was getting very old, very quickly. She reached up to push golden-blonde strands from her eyes; the mad dash, subsequent fall and ungraceful struggle had tugged her hair out of its loose French braid and it snaked wildly over her shoulders and face. Her fingers came away bloody and she jumped in surprise.

"I'm Charles Xavier. Erik Lehnsherr." The man with kind eyes said quietly, indicating himself and then the one she'd rugby-tackled.

She stared back at them, not bothering to offer her name. They looked at her patiently. She could feel something emanating from the two of them, swelling over her like a lazy wind. She had the distinct impression that these two were more than just stalkers.

"Leave me alone." She snapped as fiercely as she could, glowering at the two of them.

"We're not going to hurt you." Charles said carefully, opening his hands in a supplicating gesture she promptly ignored.

"No, because you're going to vanish from my life." Eden retorted.

"We don't want to hurt you." Charles repeated and his soft blue eyes flickered over the scrapes up and down her bare legs and the gash still bleeding steadily into her hair with some regret. Although, to be fair to them, she had caused those herself when she'd flung herself at Erik. She glanced at him, standing silently a step behind Charles, a smirk dancing around the edges of his mouth. "We know who you are."

"And I'm thrilled for you." Eden interrupted. "Of course, anyone with a phonebook could 'know who I am'." She pointed out, using her fingers to sketch quotation marks in the air.

Erik looked amused again and Charles gnawed on his lower lip thoughtfully. After a moment of silence, Charles gave Erik a beseeching look and Erik moved his shoulder in a small half-shrug, giving a quite implacable look in return. Charles sighed.

_I know what you can do._

Eden blinked, squinting at Charles suspiciously. He was smiling at her encouragingly.

_You're different, special. So are we._

Eden looked from Charles to Erik doubtfully.

"So what?" She challenged. "What, are we going to hold hands and sing kumbaya?"

Erik made a stifled sound that he quickly turned into a tiny cough when Charles glared at him. Charles took a breath and started on what sounded like a pretty rehearsed speech. Eden vaguely listened, distracted by the way Erik loomed.

"What exactly do you want me for?" Eden cut across him sceptically, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back against the wall.

Charles and Erik exchanged looks, silently communicating. Erik's wicked blue eyes flickered over her, the corners of his lips twitching and she glowered. He'd remained largely silent throughout Charles's speech, looming and emanating power and mystery. He made her skin tingle, and not entirely unpleasantly either.

"I'm a thief."

Charles stuttered to a stop mid-speech, pursing his lips closed and running a hand back through his wavy hair. He cocked his head.

"You're a healer."

"I dropped out of med school." Eden reminded him.

_That doesn't change your ability._

She jerked as if she'd been zapped, glaring at Charles.

"Stop that."

"My apologies." He didn't sound sorry in the least. "Your ability is unique, the different situations it could be applied to…" Charles looked at her wonderingly and she shifted uncomfortably. "We're very interested in-"

"I have no intentions of being a lab rat." Eden interrupted testily.

_We would never_—

"I told you to stop that."

Erik touched Charles's shoulder and Charles blinked sheepishly. Eden had the feeling that when his emotions were charged, Charles automatically slipped into his telepathy without realising.

"We don't experiment on people." It was the first time Erik had spoken and his gravelly, slightly accented, voice made the hair on her arms tingle again. His eyes were gleaming darkly and his mouth was an ugly thin line all of a sudden.

"You're curious about me, I can understand that." She looked at them both from under her lashes. "And I'm flattered. Also… not interested. Sorry boys."

She pushed away from the wall.

"We can help you." Charles said suddenly.

"I don't need help." Eden walked around them without taking her eyes from them. "I know who I am, I know what I am and I know what I can do."

Charles was still formulating his reply when she broke into a sprint, streaking out of the alley like a bat out of hell. She knew that running from a telepath was generally a pointless exercise but it made her feel better. When she had put a lot of distance between them, she slowed down to ease the burning pain in her chest. She'd crossed out of the main streets and into the old railyard bordering the fringes of town. Her apartment was on the other side of the old lot in the more ramshackle part of town and she crossed this way every day with no trouble. Maybe it was the residual shock from her encounter but her skin was prickling and her senses were twitching as she crunched across the stones. There were usually a few homeless characters around that she knew by sight, enough to nod at as they passed in and out of each other's lives but there was no one in sight. Eden fought the urge to glance over her shoulder as she heard the ghost of footsteps behind her. She struggled to keep her pace even as her heart began to pound again. When you spend your life as a criminal, raised by criminals, loved by criminals, taught by criminals, you had an instinct about these things and she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that someone was following her. And their intentions were not good.

She pondered her options. Her apartment was still almost ten minutes away, town was almost ten minutes behind her, and there was nothing in either direction but the abandoned rail tracks stretching into the distance. Her breathing quickened as fear seeped into her blood like a poison. There was a rusting old-fashioned railcar on the tracks ahead, tilting dangerously on its broken wheels. There was an entrance to the old tunnels half buried underneath it. She'd seen it a few times but it would be a tight squeeze, even if she could reach it before the footsteps made their move. She narrowed her focus, the rusty old car blossoming electric blue. She was deep in focus, prying apart the base of the railcar for a cleaner escape when they made their move. More accurately, it felt like someone had thrown a building at her back. She sprawled forwards, stone and discarded bits of broken glass cutting into her face, hands and bare knees. Taken by surprise, her focus shattered and left her dazed and shaken. She didn't have time to gather her scattered wits before strong hands were dragging her up by the hair.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" She managed to croak out, squinting against the bright sunlight as he bent her neck so far backwards she feared it would snap.

She could just make out the craggy grizzled face of a burly bruiser with dead shark eyes and an ugly scarred mouth and a shorter leaner scumbag behind him scouring the railyard with his beady eyes.

"Where is it?"

She frowned, her brain searching through the various items she'd procured over the years, any of which could be important enough for someone to hunt her down.

"Care to clarify?"

His face creased, his grip on her hair tightened unmercifully and she was blind-sided by a fist. Stars popped before her eyes and burning red pain exploded through her head. He shook her until her head cleared a little.

"Where is it, bitch?"

"I can't tell you, unless I know what you're looking for." She gasped through the red veil of pain.

His brow wrinkled and then his scowl widened. They seemed to think she was playing with them. He tossed her around like a ragdoll, big meaty fists impacting her slender body. She tried to focus herself but every time her vision bloomed blue another punch sent her reeling and it slipped away. In a panic as a particularly nasty blow split her vision, she tried to gather as much energy as she could summon. His body flickered blue, and lit up before her she could see blood pulsing through his veins, activity flashing like fireworks in his brain, his heart thumping above her. She tried to get a grip on his heart but losing her awareness of what was going on to her physically meant each fresh blow kept shaking her grip. Her whole body was starting to feel hot, she could feel blood trickling onto the stones beneath her, a vicious punch had made the graze on her forehead much worse and a thin glaze of sticky red was blocking out her vision. There was nothing left. She had no energy and the pain was too much to regain her focus and use her power against him. It was a hell of a day to die. Still, at least she'd seen Sampson. Met two cute guys. A glimmer of possibility shot through her head and she blinked. Worth a try, right?

_HELP! HELP ME!_

Something sparked in her brain but she was too far gone to examine it. He had her by the throat, her feet were actually dangling. She'd lost her boots somewhere, they'd always been a little too big. Her vision was blacking out when he let her go and she dropped like a stone. Her body was a messy tangle of limbs yet strangely it wasn't the pain that was most prominent, it was the little stones digging into her body she felt most keenly. It also seemed as if the ground was shaking, but then the sky seemed to be spinning above her so she didn't really trust her perceptions right now.

"Eden? Eden!"

She felt hands on her, soft well-meaning hands. Charles's face blurred as he tilted her face towards him. Her body was agony, her ribs blazing with every difficult painful breath, she wanted to drift away and forget everything but Charles was burrowing into her head, convincing her it would all be okay, asking her to trust him.

"That was quick." She whispered, even her lips were cracked and bruised and sore.

"We were driving this way." Charles said quietly, although something in his gaze flickered.

"You were following me." She was too tired to make it sound like the accusation it was.

Her head rolled away from his intent stare and she glimpsed Erik, locked in battle with her attackers. Although, technically, it was less of a fight and more he was beating the crap out of them with the metal rail that had been yanked out of the ground. She didn't want to know how he'd managed to get that hunk of metal out of the ground where it had been buried for years.

If she'd thought he was intense when he was merely standing there, he was blinding right now. His face was a mask but his eyes were blazing like live coals, his hands outstretched and the muscles flexing in his arms and chest. Charles turned her face away from the fight.

"Can you walk?"

_I don't know._

Charles frowned. From her earlier display she clearly didn't enjoy communicating that way, she was weaker than she looked. This caused him a great deal of concern as she looked like she was currently at death's door. Charles glanced at Erik as screams spread over the abandoned lot. Charles gripped Eden under her arms and pulled her to her feet. She whimpered, bit her lip and broke out into a stream of curses. Charles could feel waves of pain radiating from her, blood was smeared all over his shirt and jacket just from helping her up.

"Erik!" He called anxiously. He had no idea of her healing capabilities, whether she could heal this amount of damage quickly enough if she had internal injuries.

Erik took her other arm, relieving some of her weight from Charles's shoulder. She stumbled, her bare feet slipping and sliding on her own blood. Erik swung her into his arms, ignoring Charles's questions about her attackers.

Eden was vaguely aware of their voices piercing the haze of pain swirling in her brain. She must have dropped out of consciousness for a while, because when she woke she was in the backseat of a car and the pain from the jolting vehicle was enough to send her under again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** don't own done sue

Lyrics are from 'Clarity' by Zedd & Foxes

**Clarity**

**Chapter Two**

High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life  
>Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time<br>Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends  
>A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again<br>'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need  
>Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why<br>If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?  
>If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?<br>Walk on through a red parade and refuse to make amends  
>It cuts deep through our ground and makes us forget all common sense<br>Don't speak as I try to leave 'cause we both know what we'll choose  
>If you pull then I'll push too deep and I'll fall right back to you<br>'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need  
>Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why<br>If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?  
>If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?<p>

"She needs a doctor."

"She's a healer. She'll heal."

"And if she doesn't? He beat her half to death, Charles!"

"Trust me. She healed her internal injuries on the way here. She needs rest."

"What if you're wrong?"

"I'm not."

"Her life is at stake."

Voices clanged through her head, each one like a jackhammer personally pounding into her skull. Eden wanted to roll over, away from the intrusive voices but her body still hurt too much. She tried to force her eyes open, after a few attempts she almost managed it. She could just about see the dim room she was in. It looked like a bedroom. She could see Charles and Erik and a girl directly ahead of her, their voices lowered to hissing whispers as they argued. Well the girl and Charles were arguing, Erik was standing by the window staring out through the stained glass. The girl's voice rose sharply and Charles hurriedly took her arm and led her from the room so they could continue their discussion in the hallway.

Eden mentally assessed her broken damaged body in silence, pain throbbing through her blood from her scalp to her toes. She could still hear the faint murmur of the argument through the thin wooden door, the faint thrum of rain speckling the window, even the steady rhythm of her own breathing.

"You're awake."

Eden blinked, somehow even that managed to hurt, and looked across at him. He was shrouded in darkness, his arms folded across his chest but she could feel he was looking at her. He stepped away from the long arched window and further into the room.

"I need to use the bathroom."

Erik's mouth twitched; evidently that was not what he'd expected. Eden worked herself into a sitting position, teeth gritted against the pain. She had to catch her breath and wait for the dizziness to ease as she slid out from under the sheets, putting her feet flat on the plush carpeted floor and hanging her head over the side of the bed. For a minute she thought she might throw up but it passed and she managed not to ruin Erik's shiny shoes. Erik heaved a heavy sigh and took her hand, helping her climb down from the big bed. She wobbled on her feet for a second, taking stock of how much everything hurt as blood rushed to her extremities numb from lack of use. He was staring at her with a bizarre look on his face and she turned away. He was surprisingly patient as he guided her, step by painful step, across the room. When she reached the bathroom, she hovered in the doorway for a moment.

"I'll wait out here." Erik said gruffly.

She nodded, stopping abruptly when her head felt as if it might fall off, and crossed into the room. The bright glare of the sudden light hurt her eyes but she forced herself to look at her reflection in the ornate mirror. One of her eyes was sealed shut by a brilliant purple bruise that covered half of her face, her lip was split almost to her jawline, black and blue bruises like flowers spread over her collar bone and one shoulder. From the tenderness, she had a couple of broken ribs and the pain in her left ankle was shocking, there was a very deep gash on her right thigh that should have needed stitches. On top of that every muscle ached, every bone hurt and her skin felt stretched too tight. Blood matted her hair to her head like a grotesque wig and, exploring the damage, she encountered a nasty sizeable gash on top of her head and a smaller one at the back.

She'd switched on the shower before she'd even realised what she was doing. Someone had wiped her down and discarded her bloody clothing, changing her into a hideous floor length nightgown. She unlaced the material and it slid to the ground. It took some effort to climb into the shower, tears of pain squeezing out of her eyes when she bit her split lip. The hot water felt both glorious and agonizing on her battered body but she persevered, gently sponging herself down until the worst of the blood was gone. This turned out to be a mistake. Once the blood was gone, her bruises were thrown into sharp relief against her pale skin. She struggled back into the nightgown before she staggered out of the bathroom. Erik was leaning against the wall, his long legs stretched out and his hands thrust deep into the pockets of black jeans. He cocked his head towards her, his blue eyes glancing at her wet hair and the newly revealed bruises chequering her body.

"I thought you'd fallen in." He observed flatly, lifting his eyebrows.

She laughed, taken by surprise at the joke. Erik took her arm again, helping her stagger back into bed. She groaned as he practically lifted her up into the tall bed, jolting every sore bone in her body. Even the sheets covering her body hurt. Erik poured her a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table and helped her take a sip.

"You're a healer." He said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Sometimes." She replied warily. He lifted his eyebrows. "I can manipulate things that have separate parts." She said slowly, partly because her throat was agony from the strangling and partly because she'd never put her mutation into actual words before. "The human body is made up entirely of separate parts."

"That's how you heal." Erik nodded, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "You can do it to others, and yourself?"

"It takes energy, energy takes time." Eden sighed, exhaustion washing over her. "Thank you."

Erik flinched, his brow furrowing as he studied her.

"For the help." She clarified. "For beating them to a pulp."

He turned away, his face shuttering closed. They avoided each other's eyes, thoughts churning.

"Healing is putting things back together." He mused, so quietly she had to strain to hear him. "Can you take them apart?"

She looked at him warily, again feeling that darkness he seemed to carry deep inside him.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you?"

She swallowed against the pain in her throat, shifting uncomfortably. They were still staring at each other in silence when Charles re-entered the room. He beamed when he saw her awake, when he saw her wet hair he scolded Erik for letting her shower alone and possibly make her injuries worse. Erik ignored him, stepping away from Eden's bed to make room for Charles and his bedside manner. Eden answered Charles's questions politely, feeling unutterably awkward that she'd refused to help them, quite obnoxiously too, merely an hour before they'd come to her rescue and saved her life.

"You want to see how I heal." She said suddenly, breaking through Charles's explanation of where they were.

Charles chewed on his lip looking mildly annoyed and the blonde girl stifled an amused grin. Eden was starting to get the feeling that no one ever interrupted Charles.

"You can't see a lot from the outside." She sighed wearily. "Help me."

Charles helped her push back the sheets and wriggle back up into a sitting position, trying not to look too eager. It was almost endearing the way his eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. Eden rolled the hem of the nightgown up to expose the ugly cut on her thigh.

"How telepathic are you?" She asked Charles, cutting off his reply before he could launch into another speech. "Well do what you have to do if you want to watch. I guess it's the least I can do."

Charles took her hands in his, staring at her with those intense blue eyes until she could feel his faint presence in her head. It was an odd feeling, a feather-light brush against the back of her consciousness. She took a deep steadying breath, narrowing her focus onto her leg. The pain in her head intensified as bright blue lit up her leg. She shifted her focus, blocking out everything but her wound. The blue got brighter, illuminating the severed edges of the gash. She coaxed the layers of skin and muscle and veins to repair, to knit themselves back together. It hurt almost as much as the beating. If wrenching things apart was painful, sewing them back together was agony. When she was done she withdrew her focus with a grateful sigh. There was nothing left of the vicious gash but a slender pink line marring the pale skin of her thigh that would fade by morning.

"Fascinating." Charles breathed, his fingertips grazing over the mark in wonder.

He seemed to have forgotten that the skin he was exploring was her thigh so Eden let the familiarity slide. Erik made a small noise and Charles blinked, taking back his hand with a half smile and leaping to his feet to pace the small bedroom as he mused aloud.

Eden barely heard him; she was already drifting to sleep.

* * *

><p>Over the next three days Eden healed her various injuries between periods of deep heavy sleep. She let Charles stay with her as she worked since it seemed to interest him so much. On the third day when Charles arrived at her door with her lunch on a tray, he was trailed by a tall nervous looking youth in glasses. Eden had progressed to climbing out of bed on her own and, after sweet-talking Charles into getting her some clothes made in this century, dressing herself. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the end of the bed reading a magazine when they entered and Charles handed her the tray. He introduced the youth as Hank and then settled himself down cross-legged on the floor besides her. The gangly youth looked unutterably awkward as he followed suit and Eden grinned, offering him a pillow from the bed. Eden picked her way through her lunch as Charles and Hank tossed theories around about her mutation. She healed the last of her injuries for them and Hank hurriedly scribbled down some notes.<p>

"Do you need to rest?" Charles asked as he poured her a glass of water.

"No. Actually I'm okay." Eden said with some surprise, accepting Hank's help as she scrambled to her feet. "Can I get out of this room now?"

Charles studied her carefully from head to toe. She was paler than snow beneath her still florid bruises flowering every shade of blue black purple and yellow across her face and vanishing under her slightly too tight cream blouse and reappearing in ugly patches on her long slender legs under her high-waisted navy blue shorts. She'd healed all of her internal and serious injuries but she had left her bruises to heal naturally, the result being that she looked as if she had been hit by a truck.

Charles sensed a presence behind them and he turned automatically, knowing he'd find Erik looming in the doorway. Erik's vivid eyes flickered over each of them enquiringly, lingering for a brief moment on a clearly disgruntled Eden. She looked slender and fragile in the ill-fitting clothes spotted with bruises but he remembered the strength with which she'd tackled him. She looked away from him, towards Charles and Hank and then back towards him when they all continued to stare at him.

"Well?" She asked impatiently. "Can I escape?"

Erik lifted his eyebrows. He'd only come to find Charles because Raven and Angel were having a furious argument that seemed to be taking over the entire ground floor and he could not be dealing with it. Instead he'd walked right into whatever this was. Charles was frowning the way he did when he thought very hard about the consequences of something and Hank was edging nervously from foot to foot.

"Charles?" Eden prompted dangerously, crossing her arms over her chest.

Charles could see the angry glitter in her eyes and the defiant tilt of her chin. She looked remarkably like Erik for a split second and Charles chewed on his lip. Despite the numerous times he had been in her mind he still knew very little about her and he was remarkably protective of his little family.

"Are you keeping me prisoner?" She asked point blank, looking Charles and Hank up and down with a seriously doubtful look on her face.

"No, of course not." Charles blustered.

"Then excuse me." Eden sidestepped around Hank, stood toe to toe for a brief moment with Erik before gliding into the hallway.

"Should she be wandering around the mansion alone?" Erik observed idly.

"I think she just wants some time." Hank said quietly, avoiding Erik's gaze.

"Perhaps you should keep her company." Charles suggested.

Erik looked up when the silence lengthened to find them both staring at him.

"I am not a babysitter." He said dismissively.

Charles stared at him and he stared right back irritably.

"Please Erik." Charles peered entreatingly across at his friend and Erik scowled. He hated it when Charles used the eyes on him.

Eden padded barefoot down the hallway, counting doors as she went. She mentally stored the layout of the floor for later, enjoying stretching her limbs after so much rest. The dark wallpaper was making her slightly dizzy and she briefly put a hand to her eyes. Her face was slightly damp with sweat and she shivered. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. Following the twist of the hallway she found herself at a dead end, nothing but a blank stretch of ugly wallpaper and a huge equally ugly tapestry of a battlefield. There was a window, though. Hoping for some fresh air, Eden crossed the wide hallway and tugged at the sash window. It didn't budge an inch. She settled instead for leaning her hot forehead against the cool glass, staring out at the rolling green vistas stretching into a dark patch of trees in the distance.

The hairs along the back of her neck prickled and she tensed, pulling away slightly to search the glass. There was a slight smudge where her forehead had been but only her own pale reflection staring back at her. It wasn't exactly a pretty sight. Her pale freckled face was florid with dark ugly bruises and her eyes were sparkling feverishly. She looked away, her eyes meeting his in the glass.

She looked as if she was about to keel over and Erik frowned. Her slender arms and legs were trembling, the blue black bruises spotting her pale skin. Erik took her elbow.

"Not as strong as I thought I was." She mumbled to herself sadly as he led her back to her now empty room.

She sank down onto the side of the bed, looking down at her bare feet glumly. She even had bruises on her feet, he noted absently.

"Being murdered will do that to you."

She squinted up at him, her mouth curled into a frown partly distorted by her swollen face. He'd said it so expressionlessly, she couldn't work out if he was joking or not. He stared intently back at her, his face a blank mask.

"Who were they?"

She flinched, the question taking her by surprise. During their daily conversations, Charles had never asked her about her attack other than to clarify that it had not been because of her mutation. Her fingers tracked over her battered swollen face lightly, her tiny pink tongue darting out to trace her dry damaged lips nervously.

"I don't know."

"Why did they attack you?"

She shivered, pushing her shaky hands back into her wild hair.

"They wanted something."

"Something?"

"Something I stole."

"What was it?"

She closed her eyes, turning her face away from him.

"I don't know."

"You don't know." He repeated icily. "You don't know what you've stolen that would be worth killing you to get it back?"

"I don't ask questions. I'm a good thief. I work for clients. I don't steal for myself." She snapped tetchily.

"How Robin Hood." Erik murmured smoothly, a smirk flickering across his mouth.

Eden glowered at him, wanting more than anything to knock that smile off his face. Instead she rolled away from him.

"I think I'm going to rest now." She said pointedly, not looking over her shoulder to watch him leave the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** don't own don't sue

Lyrics are from 'Clarity' by Zedd & Foxes

**Clarity**

**Chapter Three**

High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life  
>Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time<br>Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends  
>A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again<br>'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need  
>Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why<br>If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?  
>If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?<br>Walk on through a red parade and refuse to make amends  
>It cuts deep through our ground and makes us forget all common sense<br>Don't speak as I try to leave 'cause we both know what we'll choose  
>If you pull then I'll push too deep and I'll fall right back to you<br>'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need  
>Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why<br>If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?  
>If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?<p>

Eden winced at the sight glaring back at her. It was not pretty. She'd healed her internal injuries and most of her external ones but healing bruises took too much energy to really be worth it. Consequently, half of her face was florid purple and yellow, her shoulders were black and blue and there was still a fist-sized black flower on her ribs. She sighed, scowling when pain pulled at her newly healed ribs as she slipped on a grey sweatshirt. She had a moment of frustrated painful difficulty tugging on the matching sweatpants and she gave up completely on putting on any shoes. Her ankle was still black with bruises. She pushed her door cautiously, part of her wondering if it would be locked. It wasn't. She tiptoed into a wide carpeted corridor with doors sprouting from either side.

The house was eerily silent, only the soft shush of her bare feet padding on the worn carpets as she traversed the corridors. This place was genuinely huge. She turned a corner and found herself in a long gallery with several arched windows overlooking a huge expanse of green. She leaned against the old window frame. Charles must really have a buttload of money. A line of tall dark trees flowed into a sweep of emerald lawn. Directly beneath her was a gravelled walkway bordered by a small stone wall. She could just distinguish two figures standing on the walkway. She stepped back from the window before they could see her. Circling seemingly endless corridors and hallways she finally found a small staircase which led her into a bigger grander hallway which led her to a huge sweeping staircase. From there she followed the noise.

Eden found herself in an expansive kitchen dominated by a huge wooden scrubbed table. At the moment there was cereal scattered all over the table, a garishly coloured box upended and still trickling flakes onto the tiled floor. A tall blond boy was on his feet, both hands planted firmly on the table and his eyes snapping outrage. A smaller redheaded boy was across the table from him, one hand dangling a cereal bowl swung over his head like a weapon and a spoon sticking out right in front of him in the other. His face was red and they were clearly the cause of the argument that had guided Eden towards them. When she stepped into the room the noise ceased as effectively as if she'd flicked a switch. Hank was sitting meekly at the table but he scrambled to his feet when he saw her.

"Hello."

The blonde girl Eden had seen arguing with Charles emerged when she swung the fridge door closed, a bottle of milk in her hands. Eden eyed the spilled cereal doubtfully.

"I'm Raven." She smiled prettily and placed the milk on the table with an audible thunk. "Sean put that down."

The redhead dropped the bowl and spoon back on the table. Hank blushed.

"You hungry?" The blond boy asked gruffly, shooting a dark look at Sean who was scooping discarded cereal into his bowl.

"Uh. No. Thanks." Eden added belatedly.

"You nearly died, you should eat."

"Alex!"

Eden shrugged, feeling the patches of unbruised skin on her face flushing.

"Here." The blond boy, Alex, grabbed a shining green apple from the big bowl in the centre of the table and tossed it to her.

Eden caught it easily with a snap of her wrist.

"Thanks."

She backed up a step towards the door.

"You should find Charles." The blonde girl said, taking a seat besides Hank. "He'll want to speak to you."

"Yeah. I'll uh… do that."

She made a hasty exit, feeling their eyes on her back as she retreated down the corridor. She munched her apple as she explored what she later discovered to be the ground floor of the mansion. It hurt her jaw and bruised cheek to chew but she persevered. She found several sitting rooms, a study, a genuinely huge dining room that should have been labelled a banqueting hall and a mysterious corridor that led to a deadend. She was studying an array of ugly portraits dating back through the centuries in a large gallery when Charles found her.

"You're looking much better." He beamed, standing beside her and facing a truly hideous piece of artwork from the late 1700s.

Considering her face looked like a plate of mincemeat, Eden presumed he was merely being polite.

"You live in a museum." She said croakily, her throat still slightly scratchy from all the strangling.

"Ah… it's a family property." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck and looking down the length of the gallery. "I should show you around."

Eden tried to protest that she'd already spent most of the morning exploring but he had already taken her elbow and led her out of the gallery. He backtracked her through several of the rooms she'd already seen, pointing out heirlooms and artworks he thought she might have heard of given her occupation. His enthusiasm was catching and, despite herself, she found him drawing laughter from her more often than not. He showed her the newly installed gym and was just dragging her towards Hank's lab when she spotted a half open door.

"What's this?"

Charles opened his mouth but he had already lost her. He found her standing in the centre of the main library gazing up at the beautifully painted ceiling. It was an impressive room, he had to admit; the ceiling was actually so high because the room was built into two storeys of the house. You could access the upper floor of the library by a wrought iron spiralling staircase or one of the doors on the next floor up that led onto the balcony above them that circled the entire room.

"It's the library." He offered, rather pointlessly considering the floor to ceiling shelves lining every inch of the room that surrounded them.

"This… this is not a library." Eden said weakly, her head tipped back to take in the height of the shelves. "I don't even know what this is."

Charles could see her eyes sparkling and he smiled.

"It is impressive."

Eden didn't reply. She crossed the room and traced her fingertips along the spines of the books on the closest shelf.

"You can use it whenever you like."

This seemed to snap Eden out of her daze and she frowned.

"How long do you think I'm going to be here?" She asked, studying him intently.

Charles shrugged.

"As long as you need to."

Eden pushed her hands into her hair, dislodging several strands of gold.

"And if I don't want to stay?"

Charles's face was unreadable, his blue eyes meeting hers.

"I really think here's the best place for you."

Before she could reply, her tired sore feet gave out and she sat down very suddenly on the wooden floor. Charles crouched beside her, his hands on her shoulders.

"You're pushing yourself." He said gently, squeezing her shoulders lightly as she tried to look away. "You're safe here. Don't put yourself in danger trying to heal too quickly."

Eden could feel his hands warm through the sweats, the earnest look in his blue eyes making her uncomfortable. Charles sighed, helping her regain her feet.

"I'm going to go back upstairs."

Even as she said it, her eyes drifted longingly to the rows of books towering over them. Charles led her over to an uncomfortable looking tall-backed couch by the huge ornate fireplace. He ushered her onto the couch and convinced her to keep still until he came back. Eden was feeling a little dizzy so she stayed put, smiling when Charles returned with an armful of blankets and a small basket of food.

* * *

><p>Eden groaned, covering her face with her hands. She must have fallen asleep because she was curled uncomfortably on the sofa, a blanket around her knees and a book still open in her lap. She now had a painful crick in her neck and her stomach was rumbling ominously. The library was dark and eerily silent as she pushed open the door. She couldn't hear a thing, the entire mansion was still around her. She retraced her steps to the kitchen from memory, finding it blissfully empty. She poured herself a glass of juice and made herself a sandwich, eating over the sink in the darkness. When she was done she rinsed off her dishes and set about finding her room again.<p>

Even with Charles's tour and her excellent memory, she got lost three times before she found herself in a part of the mansion she was somewhat familiar with. She recognised the ugly paper covering the walls. As she glided along the corridor, she heard soft murmuring voices. She paused, cocking her head slightly to discern where the voices were coming from. Curiosity officially peaked, she crept on silent feet along the dark corridors. A sliver of light created a warm golden triangle in the middle of the ugly carpet the next hallway over and she edged towards it. Instead of looking through the open door and disturbing the light, she instead crept towards the other side of the door. Peering through the crack between the open door and the wall, she let her eyes adjust to the brightness of the room on the other side. She could see a fireplace burning merrily in a large tastefully decorated room.

Swivelling slightly, she saw them. Charles and Erik were sitting opposite each other, hunched over a small table. Squinting slightly, she managed to discern a chessboard between them. From what she could tell from his back, Charles was staring intently down at the board, his shoulders were hunched slightly and his hands clasped under his chin. Erik was leaning forwards, his hands linked loosely and dangling between his knees. As always, Eden found her gaze drawn to him. His broad shoulders were emphasised by his charcoal sweater, his hair a vibrant red in the firelight. Charles made a sudden noise and leaned forwards, making his move. In the few seconds he moved, Erik lifted his eyes, his electric blue gaze skewering her to the spot. Eden could almost swear her heart stopped beating. It was only a split second, but it took a shaken Eden several minutes to get her bearings and make it back to her own room again.

Three more days passed as Eden healed her injuries. Each day was spent exploring the mansion alone or sometimes with Charles. She visited Hank in his lab and tried to follow what he was working on. She even watched TV with Sean and Alex a few times. She rarely saw Erik and if she did, she avoided him as much as possible. She tried not to let him touch her, avoided eye contact and left the room as quickly as possible when he entered it. If he found her behaviour offensive, he didn't mention it. In fact, he seemed to find it amusing more than anything. On the first night she had been persuaded to join them for a "family" dinner, he had deliberately sat opposite her and every time she had glanced up at him, he had been smirking to himself as if he knew a secret. On the third day, she finally gave the others the slip long enough to get outside. Breathing in the fresh air was like heaven. The cool air seared her lungs and she closed her eyes, letting the breeze wash over her.

She studied the grounds as she stretched, waking up her sore protesting muscles. The slight burn of newly healed muscles and tendons soothed her as she coaxed herself into a light jog. She circled the grounds twice before she allowed herself to stop in a remote part of the grounds bordering the thick dark trees, gulping air into her burning lungs. Sweat was trickling under her long bangs, escaping from the ponytail. She stripped off her sweatshirt and dropped it onto the ground, allowing the cold air to cool the sweat on her skin. She re-tied her hair in a messy topknot and stretched out her aching legs. Despite the burning all over her body from protesting newly knitted muscles, she forced herself to work through her basic workout routine, twisting her body and limbs until she ached from head to foot.

Feeling exhausted but satisfied, she grabbed her sweatshirt from the ground and wiped the excess sweat from her face and body, heading back to the mansion for a well-deserved shower.

* * *

><p>She was ensconced in the library when he found her. It was after midnight, only Hank and Charles were still up as far as she knew, clattering around in Hank's lab. As the library had darkened around her, she had relocated to the antique rug in front of the fireplace. She was sitting cross-legged with a book in her lap, a blanket around her shoulders. She sensed someone in the dark depths of the library behind her but she shrugged it off, assuming the creeping sensation was left over from the book she was reading. She shivered and tugged the blanket a little tighter around her shoulders.<p>

The shadow falling over the pages was what alerted her and she whirled, leaping to her feet and almost sending herself sprawling into the fire. Erik moved closer until the firelight illuminated him and she glared.

"You scared the hell out of me." She snapped, feeling her face flush and not entirely from the heat of the fireplace burning the backs of her legs.

Erik offered no apology, merely using a small flick of his fingers to lift the fallen book by its silver edged cover. He turned it over in his hands, tracing his fingertips over the embossed title. He frowned.

"Is that… hieroglyphics?" He muttered, blinking from her to the book in his hands and back again.

"Yes." Eden shifted her feet from side to side, uncomfortable with his intent stare peering at her.

"Hieroglyphics are…."

"Ancient Egyptian." Eden offered awkwardly.

"You… speak Ancient Egyptian?" Erik cocked his head to the side and gaped at her.

"No one speaks Ancient Egyptian. It's a dead language." Eden was intently uncomfortable now, confused by the impossible look in his eye.

"But you can read it." He said slowly, tilting the book so the title glimmered in the firelight.

"A little. I've worked with Egyptian artefacts before. For clients."

Erik said nothing more but placed the book on the sofa she had abandoned hours ago. He sat down besides the book, rubbing his hands over his face. Eden could feel her heart pumping painfully fast under her ribs, but she ignored it, concerned by the look on his face.

"Are you alright?"

Erik gave her a look over his shoulder. She bristled irritably, turning away from him and making a fuss of folding up the blanket. He looked like a statue against the grand backdrop of the shadowy library, the firelight lit up his profile emphasising the strong line of his aquiline nose and the surprisingly long lashes. She sighed, dropping the folded blanket onto the spindly-legged table and sitting beside him on the narrow sofa.

"What's eating you?"

He blinked, casting her a dark inscrutable look. She ignored it. He glared at her. She ignored that too. He shook his head. She knew she wasn't going to get him talking, but he seemed to have relaxed a fraction anyway.

"It's late." He said suddenly, glancing at the inky black upper floor as if he could see the others sleeping in their quarters.

"I got carried away." Eden indicated the discarded book. "What's your excuse?"

Taken aback at her bluntness, Erik laughed. Eden felt her pulse thrumming at the rare sound of his laughter, like thick dark treacle in the shadowy library. She cocked her head suddenly.

"What's that?"

Erik looked down to where she was pointing. He had a nasty florid red bruise under his eye. He hadn't seen it yet but he was sure it was unpleasant. He tilted his face away from her.

"It's nothing." He shrugged, annoyed at the knowing look on her face. "An accident."

She stared back at him, her eyes telling him that quite blatantly she didn't believe him. He swiped his hand over his face uncomfortably, flinching at the unexpected dart of pain shooting through his eye.

"Okay." Eden tilted her head so her golden hair slipped over her shoulder. "An accident."

Erik flinched back when she reached out towards him. Eden didn't let it bother her, Erik was something like a predatory cat and they did not like to be touched. This time when she reached out, he allowed it. Afterwards he had no idea why he did something so out of character, but for the moment he let her trace her fingertips over his bruise with a feather-light touch.

"Can I?"

He blinked slowly, mulling it over. Out of curiosity more than anything, he made a small noise of assent. Using her thumb, Eden traced the bruise lightly. He didn't know if it was her touch or her healing he could feel burning and he almost didn't want to know. She was so close to him, he could smell her hair slightly smoky from the fireplace, her skin freshly washed and natural, her breath sweet from the grapes she'd been eating as a midnight snack. He could feel the warm breeze of her breath across his cheek, feel her knee warm from the fire against his thigh. Her lips were pursed as she concentrated, her long-lashed eyes darting as she focused on something he couldn't see. She leaned closer.

"I just need to-" She trailed off, lost in her own world.

Her spare hand lifted to touch his chin lightly as her fingertip traced the delicate membranes of his eyelid. She blinked and her face cleared.

"Done. Sorry I had to fix some of the veins that had split, it took a little longer-" She broke off abruptly, suddenly seeming to realise how close they were.

She had gotten so caught up in knitting his tiny veins together, she had leaned right over until her hair was resting on his shoulder. Now he had turned towards her, they were almost nose to nose. She drew away, licking her suddenly dry lips.

"It's late." Her voice was hoarser than she'd like and she hurriedly climbed to her feet. "Goodnight."

Erik didn't reply, his newly healed cheek glowing in the firelight as he watched her departing silhouette.


End file.
